Art

I saw it a month ago in LA. Very well made documentary that every one who's into F1 should see.

I visited the factory at the end of April and the tour guide said that we were the last ones to get a tour for at least another year. They're getting ready to set up the production line for the Murcielago replacement so they're going to stop giving tours for now. It's still worth visiting the museum if you're going to be around Bologna.

I'm going to take a trip to Italy in April and besides all the usual cities to go to and places to see, I'm planning on visiting the Ferrari (well museum & fiorano sine I'm not an owner), Lamborghini and Pagani factories. I came across this site: http://www.motorstars.org/ENG/proposal.htm Let me know the pros/cons of using these guys as tour guides if you have experience with them.

CAR has a picture of what the next car from McLaren might look like in next months issue: This is interesting as I thought that this car wasn't actually going to come out. There have been rumors about it for the past few years and they sort of died down after a while. It will obviously use an MB engine, I'm guessing a twin turbo V8 based on the rumors. Meanwhile AMG/HWA is going to come out with their own supercar supposedly priced around $200K.

What's funny is that that's the same head unit MB has been using in the C/E/SLK/CLK since 1999 with the tape deck. I would have thought they would have done an in dash 6 disc CD changer for the SLR at least.

That's a beautiful Diablo. Were the Monterey edition Diablo's also just something done up by Platinum/Lambo OC or were they actually done at the factory?

There were some rumors back in 1998 that BMW was considering coming out with an M1 replacement with a high-tech V-10. It was at the same time that there were rumors of a supercar from MB with gullwing doors (which obviously turned out to be the SLR). The car from BMW never materialized though. BMW is one of the most profitable car manufacturers and they really don't need a supercar. Keep in mind that cars like the SLR and CGT weren't the successes that MB and Porsche had hoped they would be. BMW is smart and likes to be conservative and make money. At this point, they're just not going to risk it and come out with a supercar that might not be very successful. The only thing close to a supercar from BMW on the horizon is a car that will compete with the next generation MB SL.

They've thought about it before, but they came to the conclusion that they would never make an "M7". They will most likely have Alpina come out with another B7 and bring that to the states just like they're doing right now to compete with the S63, S8, etc....

If I'm not mistaken, the GT2 rides on Michelin Pilot sport cup tires while the Carrera GT has always left the factory with PS2's. That makes a difference. Besides, the CGT has done a time of 7:28 around the ring, so it's still quicker then the GT2 which has superior tires. :55* - 178.699 km/h - Radical SR8, 360 PS/650 kg, Michael Vergers (sep,28 05) 7:12* - 173.600 km/h - Radical SR3 Turbo, 320 PS/500 kg (test drive 07/03) (*mfr.) 7:28 - 166.652 km/h - Porsche Carrera GT, 612 PS/ 1475 kg, Walther Rohrl, (Autobild 07/04) 7:32* - 164.071 km/h – Pagani Zonda F, 650 PS/ 1230 kg, (*mfr.) www.autodrome-cannes.com/index-eng.asp 7:34 - 163.586 km/h - Koenigsegg CCR, 806 PS/1418 kg, Horst von Saurma (sport auto), oct,17-18 05 7:36 - 162.631 km/h - Porsche Carrera GT, 612 PS/ 1475 kg, factory test driver Walther Röhrl (02) 7.39* - 161.575 km/h - Porsche 997 GT3, 415 PS/1395 kg, *mfr. (quote sport auto 05/06) 7:40 - 161.217 km/h – Bugatti 16/4 Veyron, 1001 PS/1980 kg (Wheels magazine Australia, 12/05) 7:40 - 161.217 km/h - Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren, Klaus Ludwig (AutoBild 07/04) 7:40 - 161.217 km/h - Porsche 997 Turbo, 480 PS/ ??? kg, Michelin Cup Sport tyres (Motortrend) 7:42* - 160.519 km/h – Ford GT, 550 PS/ 1521 kg (*as indicated by Octane magazine, 11/05) 7:42.9 - 160.207 km/h - POS Plastic mess-06, 500 PS/1319 kg, Jan Magnusen, (Sporbilen, jun,26 05), www.supercars.net/Pics?vpf2=y&gID=3&fID=0&tID=10073&mID=1384471&l=d 7:43 - 160.173 km/h - Porsche 996 GT3 RS, factory test driver Walter Roehrl (MOTOR magazine) 7:43.5 - 160,000 km/h - Lamborghini Murcielago (Autocar magazine 02) Rohrl was also quoted as saying he was confident the CGT would be even quicker if it had better tires. So does it really seem impossible for a GT2 to run 7:32 around the ring? I don't know, Porsche was never the type of company to go around and claim BS numbers. If anything they're pretty conservative and tend to understate the performance of their cars.

Looks good. Can't wait to see how it will stack up against the Superleggera and new GT2.

I pretty much agree with the list, but I think they should have at least included an M3 at least.

That's a really nice Viper. Any other plans for it like a supercharger or twin-turbo setup maybe?

The 1 series is going to be a cool little car although it doesn't look that great from behind. Then again I've never seen it in person so I'll reserve my final judgment until then. I'm glad to see BMW coming out with a smaller, more nimble car then the 3-series which has become a bloated pig. It's the real successor to the 2002. It's also going to be one hell of a quick little car, especially if you mod it. The new twin-turbo inline-6 is really becoming a popular engine in the aftermarket community.

I'm pretty sure it's called Rosso Dino.

The one where Balboni drives the Murceilago is pretty good as well: http://youtube.com/watch?v=zOFxD474LUg&amp...ted&search= And the Miura clip http://youtube.com/watch?v=5Cl8_MsDYZ8